Product purchase system, product purchase method, a storage medium for storing a program for executing the product purchasing method, and a server used therefor

ABSTRACT

A product purchase system using a network comprises a server connected to a network  1 , a database  5  included in the server  2  for storing order sheet data for each user, means connected to the network  1  for updating the order sheet data via the network  1 , means for inhibiting the updating of the order sheet data after a predetermined date, means for aggregating the order sheet data of all users by summing up the quantities of ordered products for each type of the ordered products to obtain aggregated data after the predetermined date, and means for fixing, as order data, the order sheet data for each user and the aggregated data after the predetermined date.

This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 09/956,447,filed Sept. 19, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,374,085, which is hereinincorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the distribution of products via anetwork. In particular, the present invention pertains to a productpurchasing system and method for quickly and smoothly distributingproducts via a network, a computer-readable storage medium on which aprogram for executing the product purchasing method is stored, and aserver used therefor.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, the distribution of products or goods has becomevoluminous. In such a situation, a person who desires to purchase aproduct tends to forget which product he or she has ordered, or tends toincorrectly remember or record the number thereof. Further, a productsupplier must correctly and quickly process orders received frompurchasers. Such a product purchase system is used in various fields oftransactions, specifically, in a cooperative buying organization, adirect delivery system for farm products, and various mail ordersystems.

A product distribution system will now be described by using as anexample the current cooperative that can reduce unit prices ofindividual products through cooperative buying. The cooperative buyingas practiced by the current cooperatives has become popular, whichprovides consumers with products through cooperative stocking orentrusted production in response to consumer's demands for specialproducts, such as organic vegetables, products in which the density ofagricultural chemicals is low, high quality products or uniquelyspecified products.

FIG. 1 shows a typical cooperative buying system. This cooperativebuying system collects orders from members who belong to particulargroups, or general members who do not belong to any group, for eachperiodical deadline date established for ordering products andcollecting money, collectively requests production on order anddelivery, and collectively delivers the products to the contractinggroups and collects money therefrom. This cooperative buying system willnow be described in detail.

-   (1) A cooperative buying organization such as a cooperative    association (hereinafter referred to as a shop) registers groups of    multiple members and general members such as personal contractors    (hereinafter referred to as users), and periodically distributes, to    these users, product catalogs and order sheets which may be printed    materials listing the products. A group leader is appointed for each    group, who distributes the order sheets and products, and collects    money. The product catalogs and the order sheets are periodically    updated, and seasonal products for special order may be added for a    special season such as the New Year.-   (2) A user who desires to order a product refers to a related    product catalog, and enters the quantity of each product that is    ordered on the order sheet on which a form corresponding to the    product catalog is printed. In case of a group, the leader of the    group collects requests from the group members, and prepares a    single consolidated order sheet. Currently, this order sheet is    typically an OCR form.-   (3) After a deadline date that was previously set for the completion    of orders, the shop collects the orders from the users, and    processes the orders using a proprietary order reception system.    Further, depending on the products ordered, the shop entrusts the    production of the products to manufacturers, or purchases the    products from other wholesalers or venders, or supplies the products    from its local stock. After a predetermined period has elapsed    following the deadline date, the shop delivers or distributes the    products to the respective registered users, i.e., groups and/or    general members. The delivery may be done once a week or once every    two weeks.-   (4) After the products have been delivered, a group leader    distributes the products among the members of that group, and    collects money to pay for them. Subsequently, the leader pays the    collected money to the shop, which then pays to the respective    product suppliers from which the shop purchased the products, thus    completing the transactions.

The following problems are encountered in the existing product purchasesystem described above.

<Problems at a User Site>

-   (1) Collecting orders from group members is a troublesome work. For    example, when a group purchases products, the load imposed on a    leader is excessive because the leader has to collect and record a    number of orders, and to accept changes to the orders and additions    of new orders, which are laborious and time-consuming.-   (2) When a record of orders is maintained and a group purchases    products based on this record, a group leader has to aggregate    payments for each member and collect money. This is a troublesome    work and requires much labor and time.-   (3) When products are ordered, items listed on an order form are    entered manually regardless of whether the products are being    purchased by a group or an individual. Thus, errors tend to occur in    the entered prices of the products ordered by a user, and much labor    and time are required of the user. Further, if errors occur in the    calculation of payments, much labor should be involved in the    product distribution and collection of money.-   (4) In case of a group, each group member has to keep his/her own    order record by transcription or copying from the original record.    In some cases, members may lose the records, or may not record    orders at all. Further, when a record is transcribed to a different    sheet of paper, an error in writing may occur, resulting in some    confusion.-   (5) In addition, a longer period of time may be required from    ordering the products until actually delivering the products due to    the above erroneous conditions, so that the product distribution    cannot be performed smoothly. Further, since orders are continuously    and periodically issued, for example, every two weeks, double    ordering and/or missing orders may occur inadvertently at the user    side unless the order record is maintained.    <Problems at Shop and Product Supplier Sites>

On the other hand, the following problems are observed at the shop andproduct supplier sites.

-   (1) Labor, time and cost are required each time product catalogs and    order sheets are prepared and printed.-   (2) Since the creation and management of such order sheets lead to    an extended time required to supply products to users, some users    may no longer have interest in the products at the time they are    actually delivered and may, therefore, be reluctant to use such a    system, which would hinder further growth of the cooperative buying    system.-   (3) While an OCR can be used for aggregating the order sheets, it    requires time and hands to manage deadlines and to enter the    aggregated data into the order receiving and placing system.    Therefore, such a system may not be efficient.-   (4) A lead time of several weeks is generally required from ordering    till delivering since manufacturing of products is entrusted or the    products are stocked after an order is received, which would not    satisfy consumer's requirements, as compared with other product    distribution systems, and prevent the expansion of the cooperative    buying system.-   (5) Furthermore, particulars of a delivery schedule must be issued    and distributed to each user for confirmation of an order, and    particulars of direct debit must also be issued and distributed to    each user for accountancy, which would require extra labor and time.-   (6) Trouble may also be caused by an aggregate error due to user's    misinput on an OCR form or a failure in the OCR.-   (7) In the transactions with users, exception processes for handling    order sheets which have not been received before a deadline date may    occur so that complicated deadline management is required. FIG. 2    illustrates the individual steps in the operational flow of the    conventional product purchase system and method. As described above,    there are several problems in the conventional product purchase    systems, e.g., product purchasing through a cooperative, and there    is a strong demand for a smoothly operating product distribution    system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The above problems are solved by the present invention which provides aproduct purchase system, a product purchase method, a computer-readablestorage medium on which a program for executing the product purchasemethod is stored, and a server to be used therefor.

According to the present invention, provided is a product purchasesystem using a network comprising a server connected to said network, adatabase, included in said server, for storing order sheet data for eachuser, means, connected to said network, for updating said order sheetdata via said network, means for inhibiting the updating of said ordersheet data after a predetermined date, means for aggregating said ordersheet data of all users by summing up the quantities of ordered productsfor each type of the ordered products to obtain aggregated data aftersaid predetermined date, and means for fixing, as order data, said ordersheet data for each of said users and said aggregated data after saidpredetermined date.

In the present invention, said order sheet data for each user can becorrected by the users at any time via the network until thepredetermined date has been reached. In the present invention, evenafter said predetermined date has been reached, said order sheet datacan be referred to by the users at any time via the network. The presentinvention may further comprise means for summing up the quantities ofordered products for each type of the ordered products included in theorder sheet data of each user to obtain temporary aggregated data beforesaid predetermined date is reached, and means for providing saidtemporary aggregated data as order reception status data to bereferenced. The present invention may be used as an order receiving andplacing system for a cooperative, a direct delivery system for farmproducts, or mail order. The present invention may further comprisemeans for delivering the products to the respective users based on saidorder sheet data, and for storing delivery confirmation as informationcorresponding to the order sheet data for each user in said server whenthe users confirm the delivery of said products, whereby the users canrefer to the delivery status at any time via the network.

According to the present invention, further provided is a productpurchase method using a network comprising the steps of updating, viasaid network, order sheet data stored in a database included in aserver, said order sheet data being prepared for each user, inhibitingthe updating of said order sheet data after a predetermined date,aggregating said order sheet data of all users by summing up thequantities of ordered products for each type of the ordered products toobtain aggregated data after said predetermined date, and fixing, asorder data, said order sheet data for each of said users and saidaggregated data after said predetermined date. In the present invention,the step of updating the order sheet data via said network includes astep of permitting said users to refer to said order sheet data at anytime before a predetermined date is reached. In the present invention,even after said predetermined date has been reached, said order sheetdata can be referred to by the users at any time via the network. Thepresent invention may further comprise the steps of summing up thequantities of ordered products for each type of the ordered productsincluded in the order sheet data of each user to obtain temporaryaggregated data before said predetermined date is reached, and providingsaid temporary aggregated data as order reception status data to bereferred to.

The present invention may be used in an order receiving and placingsystem of a cooperative, a direct delivery system for farm products, ormail order. The present invention may further comprise the step ofdelivering the products to the respective users based on said ordersheet data, and storing delivery confirmation as informationcorresponding to said order sheet data for each user in said server whenthe users confirm the delivery of said products, whereby the users canrefer to the delivery status at any time via the network.

According to the present invention, further provided is acomputer-readable storage medium on which a program for executing aproduct purchase method using a network is stored, said programexecuting the steps of updating, via said network, order sheet data foreach user stored in a database included in a server, inhibiting theupdating of said order sheet data after a predetermined date,aggregating the quantities of ordered products of all users to obtainaggregated data after said predetermined date, and fixing, as orderdata, said order sheet data for each user and said aggregated data aftersaid predetermined date.

In the present invention, the step of updating said order sheet data viasaid network may be performed by the users at any time before apredetermined date is reached. In the present invention, even after saidpredetermined date has been reached, said order sheet data can bereferred to by the users at any time via the network. The presentinvention may be used for an order receiving and placing system of acooperative, a direct delivery system for farm products, or mail order.In the present invention, the products are delivered to the respectiveusers based on said order sheet data, and, when the users confirm thedelivery of said products, the delivery confirmation is stored asinformation corresponding to said order sheet data for said users insaid server, whereby the users can refer to the delivery status at anytime via the network.

According to the present invention, further provided is a server usedfor purchasing products via a network comprising a database for storingorder sheet data for each user, means, connected to said network, forupdating said order sheet data via said network, means for inhibitingthe updating of said order sheet data after a predetermined date, meansfor aggregating said order sheet data of all users by summing up thequantities of ordered products for each type of the ordered products toobtain aggregated data after said predetermined date, means for fixing,as order data, said order sheet data for each of said users and saidaggregated data after said predetermined date, and means for orderingproducts based on said fixed order sheet data.

In the present invention, said order sheet data for each user can becorrected by the users at any time via the network until saidpredetermined date is reached. In the present invention, even after saidpredetermined date has been reached, said order sheet data can bereferred to by the users at any time via the network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a conventional product purchase system.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an operational flow of the conventionalproduct purchase system.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a product purchase system according to oneembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a product purchase system according toanother embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a serveraccording to the invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an operational flow of the productpurchase system of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an order sheet used in the invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an alternative order sheet used in theinvention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a product purchase method according to theinvention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart for an order fixing process in the productpurchase method of the invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a fixed order sheet used in the productpurchase method of the invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart for a reference process in the product purchasemethod of the invention.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart for a temporary aggregation process in theproduct purchase method of the invention.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a display screen of temporarily aggregateddata obtained by an order reception status confirmation program.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a display screen of delivery confirmationpresented to a user on a web page according to the product purchasesystem of the invention.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a display screen of an order sheetpresented to a user on a web page according to the product purchasesystem of the invention.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a display screen of an alternative ordersheet presented to a user on a web page according to the productpurchase system of the invention.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing the product purchase system of theinvention in which multiple users are accessing a server.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be notedthat the embodiments are presented for an illustration purpose only andthe present invention is not limited thereto.

FIG. 3 illustrates a product purchase system according to one embodimentof the invention. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, a shop and aproduct supplier are separate organizations, and upon receiving ordersfrom users, the shop buys products from the product supplier which maybe a producer or a wholesaler. The shop may also provide products fromtheir own stock. The shop may also be a product supplier if the shop cansupply all the products from its own stock. The product purchase systemof the invention according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 includes aserver 2 located in a shop and connected to a network 1, computers 3 fortransmitting product purchase request signals to the server 2, and acomputer 4 located at a product supplier site and connected to thenetwork 1. A user may be a general member or a group consisting ofmultiple members. FIG. 3 shows that a group leader who has collectedorders from group members enters a product order request at the computer3. While only one shop site and only one product supplier site are shownin FIG. 3, multiple shops and multiple product suppliers may be presentdepending on the nature of transactions.

The network 1 in the embodiment is preferably the Internet, but anyother networks may be used so long as information can be remotelyexchanged, such as optical communication, LAN or WAN, using anappropriate communication protocol. A typical communication protocol isTCP/IP, but other protocols may also be used.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the server 2 is located at a shopsuch as a cooperative. The server 2 receives product order requests fromthe computers 3 located at user sites, and identifies products and theirquantities from the product order requests by means of a database 5 ofthe server 2.

The products and their quantities thus identified are stored in anappropriate memory or buffer memory, and are respectively added to datain corresponding fields in the database 5 specifying the identifiedproducts and the quantities. Then, when a predetermined date, forexample, deadline date designated in the product catalog has come, theserver 2 fixes, as order sheet data, accumulated data including typesand quantities of the products accumulated in the database 5. In theembodiment shown in FIG. 3, the order sheet data are transmitted via thenetwork 1 to the computer 4 located at the product supplier site so thatthe product supplier is notified of the types and quantities of theordered products immediately after the predetermined deadline date.

The computers 3 are located at the user sites of general members orgroup members of, for example, a shop, such as a cooperative, forpurchasing products, or a mail-order house.

The users transmit their product order requests to the server 2 byinputting necessary data to the computers 3. A keyboard or a pointingdevice such as a mouse or stylus may be used to input to the computer.

FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment of the product purchase systemaccording to the present invention. The embodiment shown in FIG. 4 isdifferent from the one shown in FIG. 3 in that the server 2 is notlocated at a shop, such as a cooperative, but at a site of a productsupplier that supplies vegetables, special goods, etc. In the embodimentshown in FIG. 4, since a transaction for purchasing a product isdirectly conducted between a user and a product supplier without anyintermediary shop such as a cooperative, product distribution can beperformed more quickly. In this case, the server 2 may be connected toanother computer via another network (not shown) such as LAN. In theembodiment shown in FIG. 4, when a predetermined deadline date haspassed, the server 2 aggregates the product order requests for eachproduct, fixes the aggregated data as order sheet data, and outputs theorder sheet data at the product supplier site by appropriate means suchas displaying or printing means.

The server 2, the computers 3 and the computer 4 may be constituted by apersonal computer or a workstation. The personal computer or theworkstation is equipped with a CPU such as Pentium (trademark of IntelCorporation) or a compatible CPU that can run an operating system suchas Windows NT (trademark of Microsoft Corporation), OS/2 (trademark ofInternational Business Machines Corporation), AIX (trademark ofInternational Business Machines Corporation), UNIX (trademark ofX/Open), or LINUX. Note, however, that the server 2, the computers 3 andthe computer 4 are not limited to such a personal computer orworkstation.

FIG. 5 shows in detail the structure of the server 2 used for thepresent invention. The server 2 is connected to the network 1 using anappropriate communication protocol such as TCP/IP. The server 2 isequipped with means, e.g., CPU, for receiving product order requests forthe purchase of products and reading from the product order requests thenumber of products. The product order request may include, for example,a product type m, a quantity n and a time stamp d. The CPU reads, fromthe product order request received by the server 2, the product data mindicating the product type and the quantity data n indicating theproduct quantity, stores these data in an appropriate storage means 6such as a buffer memory, and adds these data to the correspondingproduct field and quantity field in the database 5 to generateaggregated data using the product data m and the quantity data nincluded in the product order requests. Various storage means such asRAM and EPROM including flash memory may be used as the buffer memory.

When the predetermined deadline date has passed, the server 2 inhibitsaddition and correction in the database 5 for product order requestsreceived thereafter, and fixes, as order sheet data, the data stored inthe database 5 and aggregated for each product type. Then, in theembodiment shown in FIG. 3, the server 2 transmits the fixed order sheetdata to the shop or the computer 4 located at the product supplier site,and completes the product ordering process.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, since the server 2 is not located atthe shop but at the product supplier site, the order sheet data need notbe transmitted via the network 1. The order sheet data are output in anappropriate way, e.g., display or hard copy, in the server 2 or aseparate computer connected to the server 2 via LA, and provided asnormal order sheet data fixed for the product supplier.

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram showing a general flow of a productpurchase method according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3. In FIG. 6,it is assumed that a user performs group purchasing. Processing on theuser side is shown in the left block (a) in FIG. 6, and processing atthe shop such as a cooperative is shown in the right block (b) in FIG.6. Shown in the center of FIG. 6 is an order sheet displayed on adisplay screen of the computer 3 by the server 2 using an appropriateweb software. Explaining the processing in block (a), the user, e.g.,group leader, first accesses the server 2 for an order sheet providedfrom the shop which is valid until next deadline date, during apredetermined period of time before the order deadline date, to downloadthe order sheet and a product catalog.

At step 601, the leader downloads the order sheet, makes hard copiesthereof using an appropriate means such as a printer, distributes themto multiple group members, and requests the members to fill out thecopied order sheets. At step 602, the leader collects the order sheetsfrom the group members, aggregates the orders, and inputs the aggregatedresults in predetermined fields in the displayed web order sheet. FIG. 7illustrates a format of the order sheet provided for the group. On theorder sheet shown in FIG. 7, predetermined fields for inputting productquantities may be displayed by, for example, black numerals.

The total quantity and amount of money for each product and the totalamount of money for each group member may be automatically calculatedand displayed in predetermined fields on the displayed web order sheet,e.g., in fields designated by blue characters. In FIG. 7, two columns“Quantity” and “Total” and the lowest row “Grand Total” areautomatically calculated. As a result, the leader can use the displayedweb order sheet as a worksheet, and totalizing error and calculationtime can be reduced. FIG. 8 illustrates a format of the order sheet tobe used for general members who do not belong to any group. In the ordersheet shown in FIG. 8, product name, quantity, total amount of money foreach product, and grand total are indicated. The user need only input aquantity in a corresponding field, in the same manner as for the ordersheet shown in FIG. 7, and the subtotal for each product and the grandtotal can be automatically calculated.

Returning to FIG. 6, the leader is permitted to sum up orders or tocorrect or cancel data that were previously input before thepredetermined deadline date comes so that the system can flexibly copewith changes in the orders. When the predetermined deadline date haspassed, the aggregated data is fixed as the order sheet data.Thereafter, the leader can view the order sheet data, but cannot makeany changes in the input data through the web software, and the ordersheet data is generated from the aggregated data at that time. The ordersheet data are used by the shop for ordering as indicated at step 603 inthe right block (b) in FIG. 6.

The shop orders products from the product supplier based on the fixedorder sheet data, stocks the products at step 604, and ships or deliversthe products to the user at step 605. On the user side, the group leaderreceives the delivered products, and sorts them and distributes to therespective group members at step 606. After the products have beendelivered, the shop either mails a debit note or transmits it via thenetwork 1 to the leader. Upon receiving the debit node, the leadercollects money from the group members and pays to the shop at step 608.If no leader is required, each user and the shop may communicate witheach other via the web page.

A flowchart for the product purchase method according to the presentinvention is shown in FIG. 9. The method is initiated at step 901, and auser accesses the server via the network 1 at step 901. Then, the userinputs a user ID and a password for user authentication at step 903,which were given to the user upon making an agreement. Then, at step904, the server 2 authenticates the user by determining whether theinput user ID and password match a registered user ID and password. Ifthey do not match the registered ones (N), access to the server 2 isrejected at step 906, and the process is terminated.

If the input user ID and password match the registered ones (Y), theuser is permitted to access the order sheet data at step 905, and inputsthe date on the order sheet and clicks on an “input/update” button onthe display screen. At step 908, it is determined by an order fixingprocess whether the deadline date has passed and the order has beenfixed. The order fixing process will be described later with referenceto FIG. 10. If the deadline date has passed (Y), at step 910 a messageis displayed at step 910 indicating that the deadline date has passedand the order can not be changed, permitting reference only. Then, anorder reference process shown in FIG. 12 is executed at step 911, andthe product purchase method of the invention is terminated.

If the deadline date has not yet passed (N), the user inputs new data tobe added to the order sheet data stored in the database 5 of the server,or updates or corrects the input data at step 912 using, for example,the keyboard. At step 913, the new input data are transmitted to theserver 2 and stored in the database 5 to correct the order sheet data.Then, at step 914, it is determined whether the data input or updateshould be terminated. If the user does not desire to input and/or updatedata (Y), the product purchase method of the invention is terminated atstep 915. If the user desires to continue inputting and/or updating theorder sheet data (N), the flow returns to step 907 allowing the user toinput the date on the order sheet and select the input/update operationagain. Thus, the order sheet data can be input and/or updated repeatedlyat user's desire.

A detailed flowchart for the order fixing process according to thepresent invention is shown in FIG. 10. The order fixing process of FIG.10 is executed on the order sheet data when a deadline date set for eachorder sheet has passed, which is determined by a timer of the server 2for each order sheet data. The order fixing process of FIG. 10 isinitiated at step 1001, and order sheet data corresponding to thatdeadline date are accessed at step 1002. At step 1003, it is determinedwhether the deadline date given in advance to the order sheet data haspassed. This determination may be done by examining a time stamp whichindicates a deadline date and may be included in the order sheet datastored in the database 5. If the deadline date has passed (Y), any newinput and update of the order sheet data are inhibited for all users atstep 1004.

Step 1004 may be executed by comparing the time stamp included in theorder sheet data with the time stamp d included in the product orderrequest received from the user, or by inhibiting any user input to theorder sheet data. Any other method may also be used to reject writing tothe order sheet data.

Then, the order sheet data of all users corresponding to thepredetermined deadline date are registered as fixed order sheets at step1005, the order sheet data are aggregated for each product and sent tothe order receiving system to transmit the order data to the productsupplier at step 1006, and then the deadline date processing isterminated at step 1007. This order receiving system may be installed ata stock management site of a cooperative if the server 2 is located atthe cooperative, or may be installed at a manufacturer or producer sitewhich actually produces the products. If the server 2 is not installedat the cooperative but at the manufacturer or producer site, the orderreception may be performed internally by the server 2.

FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary fixed order sheet obtained in the abovedescribed manner.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of the reference processing for the productpurchase method of the invention that permits a user to refer to theorder sheet data. The reference processing shown in FIG. 12 is initiatedat step 1201, and the user is connected via the network to the server 2at step 1202. At step 1203, the user inputs a user ID and a password,and at step 1204, the user is authenticated. If, at step 1204, the userID and password input by the user do not match the ones registered inadvance for the user, the access is rejected at step 1206, and thereference process is terminated. If, at step 1204, the user issuccessfully authenticated (Y), access to the order sheet data ispermitted at step 1205. Then, at step 1207, the date of the order sheetis input in order to identify the order sheet data, and “reference” isselected. If multiple types of order sheets have the same date, a fieldmay be provided for storage of an order sheet code for the order sheetdata stored in the database 5 so that the user may identify the ordersheet by inputting the order sheet code.

When “reference” is selected, the server 2 may operate to prevent theuser from modifying the order sheet data so that the order sheet datamay not be changed unintentionally by, for example, erroneous keyboardoperations of the user. Then, at step 1208, the server 2 displays thecontents of the order sheet data to the user via the web page to allowthe user to refer to the current order sheet data. At step 1209, it isdetermined whether the user has decided to continue or end the referenceby clicking a “reference continue button” or “reference end button” onthe web page. If the reference is to be ended (Y), the flow goes to step1210 where the reference process is terminated. If the reference is tobe continued, the flow returns to step 1207 to display the screen forinputting the date of the order sheet and for selecting “reference”.

Further, before the deadline date is reached, temporarily aggregateddata may be provided by an access from the shop site or the productsupplier site whereat the server 2 is installed so that the shop or theproduct supplier which receives orders can determine the intermediateorder reception situation. FIG. 13 is a flowchart for a process forproviding temporarily aggregated data when a request is issued from theproduct supplier site. The process shown in FIG. 13 is initiated at step1301, and the product supplier is connected to the server 2 via thenetwork 1 at step 1302.

At step 1303, a user ID and a password are input by the productsupplier, and at step 1304, authentication is performed. Theauthenticating steps 1303 and 1304 may not be used if the shop site suchas the cooperative whereat the server 2 is located performs thetemporary aggregation.

If, at step 1304, the user ID and the password input by the productsupplier do not match the ones registered in advance for the productsupplier, access is rejected at step 1306, and the temporary aggregationprocess is terminated. If, at step 1304, the product supplier issuccessfully authenticated (Y), the product supplier is permitted toaccess the order sheet data at step 1305, and inputs the date of theorder sheet and select the “temporary aggregation” at step 1307.

At step 1308, the server 2 aggregates the orders submitted by all theusers for each product, and displays the contents of the temporaryaggregation of the order sheet data for the products to the productsupplier via the web page. The product supplier may make a hard copy ofthe temporarily aggregated data as needed to confirm the temporaryaggregation of the current order sheet data so that the products can beprepared ahead of time. At step 1309, it is determined whether theproduct supplier has decided to continue or end the temporaryaggregation by clicking a “temporary aggregation continue button” or“temporary aggregation end button” on the web page. If the temporaryaggregation is to be terminated (Y), the process goes to step 1310 wherethe temporary aggregation process is terminated. If the temporaryaggregation is to be continued, the process returns to step 1307 todisplay the screen again for inputting the date of the order sheet andfor selecting the “temporary aggregation process”. FIG. 14 illustratesan exemplary temporarily aggregated data displayed on the display windowof the server 2 by the temporary aggregation program described above.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 13, the product supplier, including theshop, uses the temporarily aggregated data as order reception statusdata to get hold of the order reception status in real time so that theproduct supplier can prepare the products in advance in accordance withthe current order reception status. As a result, the products can besupplied quickly. Furthermore, according to the product purchase methodof the invention, the troubles that may occur due to erroneous buyingand ordering of products can be reduced, and the efficiency of theproduct distribution can be improved.

Also, according to the product purchase method of the invention, theserver 2 may present a display screen on the web to permit the users,manufacturer and/or producer to confirm delivery status after apredetermined period of time has elapsed following the product deliveryto the users.

FIG. 15 illustrates a display screen for confirming the product deliverypresented to the computer 3 located at the user site. The abovepredetermined period of time may be one week following the delivery, buta different period may also be set while taking geographical situationinto consideration. If all the products have been delivered when thisscreen is displayed on the web, the user clicks on the “Yes” button onthe screen to notify the server 2, i.e., the product supplier such asthe shop, the manufacturer or the producer, that the delivery has beencompleted. If the delivery has not yet been completed, the user clickson the “No” button to so notify the product supplier. Thereafter, adisplay screen for inquiring about a product or products that have notyet been delivered may be presented. The delivery status may bepresented at any time to confirm that the products have been correctlydelivered, as an after-sales service of the shop or product supplier.

When the product delivery process has been completed, a bill is sent tothe user from the shop or product supplier by, for example, e-mail. Uponreceiving the bill, the user may remit payment by cash, or pay by acredit card that has been designated in advance, or pay by electronicmoney, if possible.

FIG. 16 illustrates a display screen for presenting an order sheet onthe web page of the computer 3 of a group leader for group purchasingaccording to the product purchase method of the present invention. Theorder sheet used in the present invention contains a deadline date inthe topmost field. The order sheet shown in FIG. 16 also contains a useror customer group ID since the users constitute a group. In the fieldbelow the customer group ID, an order column and a quantity/money/remarkcolumn are provided. The order sheet shown in FIG. 16 further containscolumns for entering product names, quantities, total amount of money,and the individual orders of group members, under the above describedfields.

In the order sheet shown in FIG. 16, when the group leader inputs theorders of the group members in the fields of the quantity/money/remarkcolumn, the quantity and total amount of money are automaticallycalculated for each product, and the grand total and subtotal for eachmember are automatically calculated in the lowermost portion of theorder sheet. The shaded portions in FIG. 16 represent the totalsautomatically calculated, which may also be represented in differentcolors to permit visual identification on the web page, e.g., blacknumbers may be used for the data input fields while blue numbers may beused for the automatic calculation fields. Such an order sheet may begenerated by installing any known database software or spreadsheetsoftware on the server 2 and using, for example, a CGI system.

FIG. 17 illustrates an alternative order sheet which may be used in thepresent invention. The order sheet shown in FIG. 17 is used forindividual users to input their orders, rather than a group consistingof multiple members as shown in FIG. 16. In the order sheet shown inFIG. 17, product names, quantities, remarks concerning the products,subtotal for each product and grand total are indicated. When a userinputs a quantity or quantities of products to be purchased in thecorresponding fields, the subtotal for each product and the grand totalcan be automatically calculated and displayed in the shaded portion.

FIG. 18 illustrates the product purchase system of the present inventionwherein multiple users access the server 2. In FIG. 18, a web page isdisplayed for each user. The individual users access to the database 5of the server 2 via their computers 3, and product order requests areaggregated for each user in the database 5 of the server 2. According tothe product purchase system of the present invention shown in FIG. 18,an order reception status recognition program is invoked periodically oras needed to get hold of the progress of order reception status. Whenthe order deadline date has passed, the server 2 fixes, as order sheetdata, the data accumulated in the database 5, aggregates the orders foreach product to obtain the total quantity of each product, and outputsorder sheet data in the form of, for example, hard copy for use inordering products from a product supplier or a wholesaler, or transmitsthe order sheet data as needed.

The program for executing the product purchase method of the presentinvention described above may be written in various programminglanguages, specifically in the object-oriented C language. A programwritten in such a language for the execution of the product purchasemethod of the present invention may be stored on a variety of recordingmedia, such as a floppy disk, a CD-ROM, a hard disk, a magnetic tape, aDVD and a magneto-optical disk.

While the product purchase system, the product purchase method and thestorage medium according to the present invention have been describedwith regard to the preferred embodiments, the present invention is notlimited to the above embodiments, and may be used in an order receivingand placing system for a cooperative, in a direct delivery/tradingsystem for directly purchasing products from farms or the like, or in anorder receiving and placing system of a mail-order system thatperiodically updates product catalogs.

As described above, the present invention provides a product purchasemethod which saves cost and labor since the database software need onlybe installed on the server 2, no special program other than browsersoftware is required for the computers of individual users, and aproduct catalog or an order sheet need not be transmitted to the userseach time it is changed. Furthermore, since the users can use the website as their worksheets, efficient and error-free product purchasingwith superior operability can be performed. The present inventionfurther provides an efficient product purchase system which can fixorders from multiple users at once since neither an order sheet nororder data need be transmitted from user's computers to a shop before adeadline date.

Thus, the present invention provides a product purchase system, productpurchase method, and a storage medium recording a program for executingthe product purchase method which can considerably save time and laborto aggregate orders with line delays, troubles, and differences in inputtimes being reduced.

The present invention further provides a product purchase system,product purchase method, and a storage medium recording a program forexecuting the product purchase method which do not require anyconfirmation from the shop after ordering, and can considerably improveefficiency of collection and payment processes and product distribution.

1. A product purchase method using a computer network comprising thesteps of: updating, via said computer network, order sheet data storedin a database included in a server, wherein said order sheet data isorder sheet data for each buyer; inhibiting the updating of said ordersheet data after a predetermined date, wherein, until said predetermineddate is reached, said order sheet data for each buyer can be correctedby respective buyers at any time via said computer network; aggregatingsaid order sheet data of each buyer by summing up quantities of orderedproducts for each type of the ordered products to obtain aggregated dataafter said predetermined date; fixing, as order data, said order sheetdata for each buyer and said aggregated data after said predetermineddate; delivering said ordered products to the respective buyers based onsaid order sheet data; and storing delivery confirmation as informationcorresponding to said order sheet data for each buyer in said serverwhen buyers confirm delivery of said ordered products, whereby saidbuyers can refer to a status of said delivery at any time via saidcomputer network.
 2. The product purchase method according to claim 1,wherein said step of updating said order sheet data via said computernetwork includes a step of permitting each buyer to refer to said ordersheet data at any time before said predetermined date is reached.
 3. Theproduct purchase method according to claim 1, wherein, even after saidpredetermined date has been reached, said order sheet data can bereferred to by each buyer at any time via the computer network.
 4. Theproduct purchase method according to claim 1, further comprising thesteps of: summing up the quantities of ordered products for each type ofthe ordered products included in the order sheet data of each buyer toobtain temporary aggregated data before said predetermined date isreached; and providing said temporary aggregated data as order receptionstatus data to be referred to.
 5. The product purchase method accordingto claim 1, which is used in an order receiving and placing system of acooperative, a direct delivery system for farm products, or mail order.